Years Apart
by Tsubasa8
Summary: Kagome inadvertantly told her present day friends about her Sengoku Jidai friends. Now she's being forced into letting someone from the past meet them in the future - but it's not Inuyasha. NOT SLASH
1. Let's Meet!

  
Me: Okay, the title is kind of weird in regards to what this fic is about - maybe. Anyways, this is just an odd (and uncreative) little fanfic idea I came up with a while ago. I suppose the premise sucks, but I wanted to do it anyways. On a different note, I don't know what's up with "Fanfiction" - they won't let me use proper indentation! [weeps] 

Disclaimer: "InuYasha" is property of Rumiko Takahashi, Sunrise, Viz, and all those other people who bring this series to us!

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Chapter 1: Let's Meet!

Girls always have their share of problems. Appearance, family matters… boys… In the latter case, things were sometimes a sticky situation for a certain girl. Not only was it a problem with a boy, but a half demon boy who lived in a different time than her. She'd talk about him with her present day friends sometimes, without their knowing what and who the boy was. It was weird sometimes how their conversations would usually end up being about boys.

They were just hanging out at their usual burger joint, sitting at their usual booth, talking about the usual thing. Well, maybe not so usual today.

"That guy was such a pervert!"

"I know! Did you see how he tried to look up her skirt?"

"It was so obvious too."

See what I mean? These "present day" friends were Eri, Arimi, and Yuka. Whose friends were they? Well I would hope you know, being in the "InuYasha" fanfiction section and all.

"Good thing she caught him and slapped him one upside the head," Yuka said.

"He deserved it," justified Arimi.

"There's always some guy out there being a total lech and all," added in Eri. "It's a good thing nothing like that has ever happened to any of us, right Kagome?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah… " Kagome was just barely paying attention to the conversation the rest of her friends were having, when she was forced to join in as well. Her response didn't come out as plainly as she would have preferred though.

"Wait… don't tell us you have!" Eri exclaimed in shock.

"Uh…" Kagome slightly shrunk in her seat. 'Darn it! Why'd I have to think of Miroku at a time like this?' she mentally scolded herself.

"Ah ha!" Eri slammed her hands on the table, causing several french fries to go flying in the air.

"No way!" Arimi's eyes widened at Kagome.

"Who was this pervert?" Yuka demanded.

"It's no big deal really; it's just how he is," Kagome tried to get out of her present situation.

"Who is he? How well do you know this guy?" Yuka continued with her interrogation.

"He's not some old guy trying to take advantage of you, is it?" Eri prodded.

"No… he's only eighteen…" Kagome answered weakly.

"Ha! There's no designated age to being a pervert!" Arimi scoffed, folding her arms in disgust.

"You haven't been seeing him or anything, have you?" Yuka leaned over the table.

"Is he that guy you're always talking about?" Eri asked her, desperately hoping that it wasn't.

"No, he's just a friend of mine, really," Kagome assured her three friends.

"Some friend!" Arimi spat.

"Does your guy know about this?" Yuka questioned her once again.

"Well, we're all kind of friends," Kagome admitted to them.

"What!?" they all shouted in unison.

"That doesn't sound quite right," Eri thought out loud.

"Maybe we should meet this guy and set him straight," Arimi began to wonder.

"N-no! It's alright, really. My best friend Sango-chan –" Kagome abruptly stopped herself when she realized what she just said, but it was already too late.

"Your _what_!?"

"_Best_ friend?" Yuka quoted in disbelief.

"How come we've never heard about this?" Eri moved closer to Kagome.

"Uh… well…"

"What are _we_? Chopped liver?" Arimi said.

"Of course not, it's just –"

"Hey, I've got an idea!" Eri interrupted Kagome in mid-sentence.

"Eh?" Kagome blinked at her.

"Instead of bringing your lecher friend, bring her instead!"

"W-what?"

"Yeah! We'll get to meet her, she'll meet us, and we'll have a girls' night out!" Yuka agreed readily.

"Uh, I don't really –"

"She is a local, right?" Arimi tried to confirm with her.

"Well sort of, but –"

"Alright, then it's settled! We'll meet up this Sunday!" Eri cut her off.

"See ya until then Kagome!" The three of them waved their goodbyes, leaving an overwhelmed Kagome alone in the booth.

"Ah…" Kagome stared after them, wondering what had just happened. "How did I get myself into this?" She looked back at the table. "And why am I left cleaning up the garbage?"

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Me: Wow, I think that this is the least I've ever written for a fanfiction. Well, there'll be more to come sometime in the future, so in the meantime, review!


	2. The Invite

Me: Wow, here's the second chapter already! It's longer too.

Thanks to all my reviewers, and to Miroku's Child-bearer, this isn't a Kag/Mir fic (sorry to burst your bubble – I just read over the chapter after I put it up and realized how that line sounded). If you're wondering about couplings, I think this will just be a regular canon coupling fanfiction.

Also, are you sure about those facts? Hm, I guess my source isn't too reliable. Where do you get your resources from?

Disclaimer: "InuYasha" is property of Rumiko Takahashi, Sunrise, Viz, and all those other people who bring this series to us!

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Chapter 2: The Invite

Kagome sighed, tossing various things into her bag. She was presently up in her room, packing for another trip into the Sengoku Jidai. She wasn't sure why she was bothering to do so though – she would be back soon enough if things worked out. How she was going to explain her situation wasn't something she was exactly prepared for either. She hauled her backpack over her shoulder, and proceeded to head downstairs. Kagome went into the kitchen, where the rest of her family was.

"Um, Mom?" Kagome said unsurely as she stopped just inside the doorway.

"Yes? What is it dear?" Her mother looked up from the dishes she was sorting out. Souta was sitting at the table watching her, while their grandfather was reading the paper.

"Er... well... is it okay if I bring someone back from the Sengoku Jidai with me?"

"You mean Inuyasha? He usually comes whenever he wants to, doesn't he?"

"Inuyasha?" Souta's face lit up. "Is he coming again?" Kagome's brother was filled with sudden excitement.

"No, it's not Inuyasha – it's someone else."

"Someone else?" her family echoed.

"Aw..." Souta slumped down in his seat. "Not Inuyasha?" he said to no one in particular.

Kagome frowned. "Hey, my other friends are just as interesting as Inuyasha!"

"But Inuyasha is so cool," Souta complained. "He's part youkai, can fight, leap far distances – how can anyone from the Sengoku Jidai be more interesting than that?"

Kagome put her hands on her hips. "Well for your information, one of my friends has a curse placed on him where he has a powerful kazaana in his right hand."

"A kazaana?" Souta looked up from where he was sitting.

"Yeah, he can suck up stuff into his hand," Kagome clarified for him.

"Really?" Souta looked interested again. "Is he the friend you're bringing?"

"Er – well, no..." Kagome glanced to the side.

Souta's face fell again. "No?" he said in a slightly whiny voice.

"The friend I'm bringing is a girl, and – "

"A girl?" Souta interrupted his sister in the same tone as before.

"Yes, and she's a taiji-ya," Kagome continued with a point she thought Souta might find interesting.

"A taiji-ya?" Souta raised an eyebrow at her. "What does she exterminate?"

"Well... youkai," Kagome said plainly.

"Youkai? Like Inuyasha?"

"No, she only does it to _youkai_ who bother humans," she explained.

"Hmm..." Souta looked back at the table he was sitting at. "She doesn't sound nice though."

"Not nice!?" Kagome said in shock. "I haven't even described her personality yet! How can you say something like that?"

"Kagome, if you're going to be bringing your friend here you should get going," her mother advised her.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Kagome turned to leave. "I'll be back soon!" she said to her family before she left.

"And Souta," their mother continued after Kagome had left, "Try to be nice to Kagome's friend."

Souta propped his chin up on his arm, gazing drearily at the table. "Yes, Mom."

Kagome leaped into the well with a grunt, the familiar bluish light engulfing her. As it began to fade, she landed softly back onto solid ground. She climbed back out of the well, swinging herself over the side. After a second of gathering her bearings, she went of in search of the others. She found them as she expected to, sitting around outside Kaede's house.

"Kagome!" Shippo ran up to her. "Welcome back!" the young kitsune said with a grin.

"Thanks, but I'm not sure I'll be back for long," she smiled down at him.

"Huh?" Shippo blinked up at her, a flash of disappointment on his face.

"What do you mean you won't be here for long?"

Kagome looked up at the sound of the familiar voice. Inuyasha was sitting up on the roof of Kaede's home. He jumped down to land squarely in front of her.

"We have to continue looking for the Shikon shards," he frowned at her. "There's no time to waste with Naraku and his minions lurking about!"

"Sorry, but I can't stay – at least – I'm not sure if I can," Kagome informed him vaguely.

"Not sure?" This time it was Miroku who spoke from the porch. "What do you mean by that, Kagome-sama?"

"Well, it depends on..." Kagome trailed off, glancing to the side.

"On what?" Inuyasha demanded.

Kagome looked back at him, then behind him at Sango. She was sitting beside Miroku; Kirara curled up in her lap. Sango straightened up when she found Kagome's gaze rest on her. Kagome walked around Inuyasha, whom found this slightly annoying. She stopped in front of Sango, everyone's eyes on Kagome.

"Sango-chan, I was wondering if..."

"If what, Kagome-chan?" Sango looked up at the girl before her.

"You're not going to ask her to marry you, are you? Because I've already got dibs on that," Miroku cut in. This remark earned him a pounding from both girls.

"As I was saying," Kagome continued while Miroku lay unconscious on the floor, "I wanted to ask you if you'd... come back with me to my time."

The others' eyes widened at this, and Miroku was miraculously able to sit back up to say, "So you _are _interested in her! You're just starting off small!" aaand in two seconds was back on the ground.

"But why do you want me going with you to your time, Kagome-chan?" Sango asked her friend, ignoring the smoldering monk next to her.

"Well... I kind of let it slip to my friends about knowing you guys – nothing like how you're from the Sengoku Jidai, just about how I have friends whom they've never met before."

"So what's the big deal?" Inuyasha said from behind.

"The big deal is that I have to get them to meet one of you – specifically Sango-chan."

"Oh... but... I thought only you and Inuyasha could travel through the well," Sango voiced.

"I know, but I thought that if I could bring stuff like my bag back and forth through time, then why not people too?"

"That sounds logical." Miroku all of a sudden was sitting back up. "Yet, you've never tried this before, have you Kagome-sama?"

"No, but..."

"But," Sango stood up, hoisting Hiraikotsu up over her shoulder, "we'll never know until we try."

Kagome turned her attention to the taiji-ya. "So, you mean... you'll come, Sango-chan?"

"Of course," Sango smiled at her, "If it will help you out, Kagome-chan."

Kagome's face brightened. "Thanks, Sango-chan!" She gave her a friendly embrace. "You're the best!"

Kirara "mewed" up at the two girls questionly. Kagome glanced down.

"You can come too, Kirara!" she smiled.

"Can I have a hug?" Miroku asked innocently.

"Not with your track record," Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at Miroku suspiciously.

"What about me?" Shippo went up to the girls. Kagome smiled down at him. She picked him up and gave him a warm hug.

"That's not fair..." Miroku groaned.

"Are you really going to leave me behind with these two?" Shippo said with a hint of despair.

"We need you to keep an eye on them for us," Kagome whispered with a wink. "Think you can do it?"

"Yeah!" Shippo nodded.

"Great!"

"Wait a second," Inuyasha interjected. "How long are you going to be gone for?"

"They only want to meet her, so it should only take about two days or so," Kagome replied.

"Two days or so?" Inuyasha mimicked. "Do you know what can happen during that time?"

"Well I haven't planned it out yet, but – "

"Not what you plan to do on your holiday!" Inuyasha growled. "I mean here! Naraku could end up taking over the whole country!"

"Don't be so melodramatic, Inuyasha," Kagome sniffed. "Come on, Sango-chan." She grabbed Sango's hand and began leading them away from the others.

"Hey, wait! I'm not done yet!" Inuyasha scampered forward to catch up with them. Miroku and Shippo followed them from behind.

"Inuyasha, I doubt that Naraku will be doing anything sinister anytime soon," Kagome insisted as she dragged Sango along.

"How can you say that?"

"Because he's busy recuperating after that bashing his body got last time!"

"Which is why we should go and look for the shards instead!"

"Inuyasha, look!" Kagome stopped once she was just a couple of meters away from the well. "My friends want me to bring Sango-chan; I'm bringing Sango-chan. If I don't, they'll bother me until who knows when!"

"Naraku and the Shikon no Tama are more important!"

"If they find out about my double life, it'll be trouble!"

"More than what could possibly happen here – Ugh!" Miroku had smacked his staff on the back of Inuyasha's head.

"Inuyasha, just let them go," Miroku said sternly. "You're blowing this all out of proportion."

"Grrr... I – "

"Osuwari."

"Gyah!" Inuyasha soon found himself facedown in dirt.

"I don't have time for this right now," Kagome said with annoyance. "My family's expecting me back soon, so we've got to go." She looked over at Miroku and Shippo. "See you guys in about two days!" she smiled at them warmly.

"Bye!" Sango waved. "Shippo-chan, I'm counting on you!"

"Okay!" Shippo waved back.

Miroku glanced down at the kitsune. "What's she counting on you for?"

"Oh, nothing!" Shippo grinned.

"Hrm?" Miroku blinked.

Kagome and Sango gazed down the empty well.

"Ready, Sango-chan?" Kagome looked beside her.

Kirara jumped up onto Sango's shoulder. "Yeah," Sango nodded in response.

"Alright, hang on!" Kagome grasped Sango's hand and stepped onto the well's ledge. Sango followed, and they both leapt into the well.

"Hey, wait!" Inuyasha reached out an arm from his spot on the ground. However, the two girls and Kirara had already disappeared from the Sengoku Jidai.

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Me: Okay, that's that! Leave a review, onegai!


	3. While the Cat's Away, the Dog Will Play

Me: Ha, I finally came back with an update and a long one too! Sorry it took like (counts) three months for me to update. I actually had a good chunk of this chapter done a while back, but I never finished it until now. I kind of got disinterested in the story and I think this chapter is pretty weak, but I figured that if there are people out there reading it, I'd better at least finish it (eventually – heh heh).

And because you guys mean so much to me, I was wondering if you could help me with something for school… You don't have to, but I'd really appreciate it. Just **email** me your opinion on genetic engineering. It can be in regards to people, plants, beliefs, etc. If you can send it in to me before the end of the week, I'd be truly grateful. Thanks!

Disclaimer: "InuYasha" is property of Rumiko Takahashi, Sunrise, Viz, and all those other people who bring this series to us!

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Chapter 3: While the Cat's Away, the Dog Will Play

Kagome looked to her side. She was relieved to see that Sango and Kirara were still with her. She watched Sango's expression with great amusement, as they traveled through the blue light together. Sango glanced at her, and Kagome smiled. Kirara "mewed," bedazzled by the sparkling glow.

They finally landed at the bottom of the well, the blue light dissipating.

"We can climb up this ladder." Kagome pointed to a rope ladder hanging against the side of the well.

"You go ahead first," Sango offered.

"Oh, okay." Kagome gripped onto the ladder and began pulling herself up. Sango went after her, Kirara resting on her shoulder.

"Wow, the well is sheltered," Sango said as she climbed out of the well.

"Yeah, our secret sheltered well," Kagome smiled. "Come on, let's go outside." Kagome lead the way up the steps and out into the warm glow of the sun.

Sango was in awe as she saw how different her current surroundings were compared to back in the Sengoku Jidai. "You live at a shrine?" Sango observed as she looked around.

"Yep, it belongs to my family. And Goshinboku is right over there," Kagome pointed over to the great tree.

"The tree where you met Inuyasha?"

"Yeah – It's still there after all these years," Kagome mused. "Ah, look! There's my mom and grandpa!" Kagome found her mother hanging up the laundry while her grandfather was sweeping the shrine grounds. "Come on; let me introduce you to them."

Kagome's mother and grandfather looked up when they noticed the girls walking towards them.

"Ah, Kagome! Back already I see," her grandfather greeted once he saw his granddaughter.

"So is this your friend from the Sengoku Jidai?" Kagome's mother asked as she came by.

"Yeah," Kagome nodded. "This is Sango-chan. Sango-chan, this is my mom and grandpa."

"It's nice to meet you," Sango bowed.

"It's nice to meet you too," Kagome's mother smiled.

"Ah, yes – same here. Usually only that Inuyasha comes around here, so it's good to see a new face," Kagome's grandfather admitted. "Especially if you're a friend of Kagome's. Eh?" His gaze shifted to Kirara. "What kind of animal is that?"

"This is Kirara – she's a cat youkai," Sango told him.

"You have a youkai as a pet?"

"I like to think of her as more of a companion," Sango said as Kirara "mewed."

"Kirara helps us fight evil youkai, Grampa," Kagome added.

"A creature that small?" Her grandfather took a closer look at Kirara.

"You haven't seen her transform yet." Sango petted Kirara on the head.

"Souta!" Kagome's mother was calling into the house. "Come out and meet Kagome's friend!"

Inside the Higurashi residence, Souta groaned inwardly from up in his room. He started making his way downstairs to see who exactly it was Kagome brought from the Sengoku Jidai. He wasn't exactly looking forward to it. I mean, he thought Inuyasha was so cool, and that guy with the kazaana sounded pretty interesting too… But how would he be able to relate to a girl, even if she did exterminate demons for a living? It just didn't sound plausible to him. In his mind, he just couldn't picture it – picture her. He just kept thinking about Kagome's present day friends and if she would be anything like them. Well, at least she wasn't some ordinary civilian. That would be super boring.

He poked his head out the door, a bit hesitant at first, looking around at his family outside. He walked out towards his mother, and then took a few steps ahead. Souta looked from his sister Kagome, to the girl that was next to her. He surmised that this was her friend from the Sengoku Jidai. He scanned her over, from her clothes, to the oversized boomerang on her back, to the odd animal resting on her shoulder. He started when she walked over to him, and crouched down to be at eye level with him.

"You must be Kagome-chan's younger brother," she said to him.

"Uh… yeah…" he replied feebly. "My name's Souta."

"I'm Sango. And this is Kirara." Kirara "mewed" as a greeting. "You know, Kagome-chan's talked about you before."

"She has?"

"Yeah, like how you help her out here because of what she does in the Sengoku Jidai." She smiled at him warmly. "You're really a kind younger brother."

"Mm - " Souta's face turned a light shade of red.

"Hm?" Kagome blinked at the look on her brother's face. 'Hmm…' she thought, trying to suppress a gin. "Hey, Sango-chan, don't tell him I said that stuff!" Kagome complained from behind her.

Sango laughed faintly as she stood back up. "It's not like I told him about the other things you said about him."

"Eh?" Souta blinked. "What other things?" he frowned slightly.

"Oh, it's nothing!" Kagome waved her hand at him with her eyes closed. "Just usual sibling stuff."

"Like what?" Souta insisted.

"Souta, I'm telling you, it's nothing!"

"How about we go inside?" Kagome's mother interrupted the sibling feud. "Come on in, I'll prepare some tea." She walked into the house as the others followed, Kagome and Souta sending each other sparks of annoyance.

- - - Sengoku Jidai - - -

"Grr… I'm going to give Kagome a piece of my mind!" Inuyasha fumed as he picked himself up from the ground.

"Which wouldn't be much in the first place," Shippo muttered.

"What did you say!?"

"Ahh!" the kitsune ran behind Miroku.

"Inuyasha, why are you being so stubborn?" Miroku asked the currently hot-headed hanyou.

"I am _not_ being stubborn!" Inuyasha continued to rant. "Doesn't anyone around here realize how important finding the shards and defeating Naraku is?"

"We all know that Inuyasha, but there's nothing wrong with Kagome-sama and Sango going off for a little while. You've been to Kagome-sama's time before, and – oh." Miroku paused for a moment, something apparently having dawned on him. "Are you…" Miroku grinned at him, "upset that Kagome-sama took Sango back instead of you?"

"Eh?" Shippo looked up at the monk's comment.

"WHAT!?" Inuyasha exploded. "As if I would be upset over something like that!" he snarled, raising a fist at Miroku.

"It seems to me that that's what it is – you're just using Naraku and the shards as an excuse."

"Grrrr… Miroku…" Inuyasha growled.

"Don't worry about that now, though!" Miroku said light heartedly. "We can have fun like them here too."

"Eh? What are you talking about?" Inuyasha was still feeling a bit agitated.

Miroku put an arm around Inuyasha's shoulders in a friendly manner. "Come, I'll show you." He started leading Inuyasha away from the well.

"Uh, oh…" Shippo murmured to himself. "Already?" He sighed. "Oh, well… guess I'd better follow them."

- - - Present - - -

Back at the Higurashi residence, everyone was seated at the table with tea set out in front of them.

"Wow, your house is really something," Sango said as she looked around the kitchen.

"Inuyasha never really took the time to think about that," Kagome replied as she poured out some tea.

"It's so different from the Sengoku Jidai. The clothes too," Sango added as she glanced over Kagome's mother and brother.

"Yeah… That reminds me - we'll have to find something for you to wear when we meet with my friends."

At that moment, Kirara, who was sitting in Sango's lap, sniffed the air.

"What is it Kirara?" Sango looked down at her cat youkai friend.

Kirara leapt down to the floor and stared at the doorway. Buyo, the Higurashi's resident cat, waltzed into the room. He stopped and looked back at Kirara, who tilted her head at the feline by the doorway.

"Oh, you found a friend!" Sango got up from her seat and stooped down to see Buyo. "You have a cat?"

Kagome glanced over. "That's Buyo. He's just a regular housecat – nothing like Kirara."

Sango reached over to pet Buyo behind the ears. Buyo "meowed" at her show of affection, happily purring.

"It seems Buyo likes you," Ms. Higurashi observed from the table.

Kirara went up to Buyo, still wondering what to make of the other.

Souta watched Sango with Buyo and Kirara. Then his eyes moved across the room, to where Sango's giant boomerang was leaning up against the wall.

"Hey, Sango-onee-chan," Souta said.

"Onee-chan?" Kagome and Sango looked back at Souta.

"Er… is it okay if I call you that? I call Inuyasha Inu no nii-chan, so… " Souta trailed off.

Sango smiled. "Sure, it's okay."

Souta's face broke into a grin. "Thanks… well, nee-chan told me that you're a youkai taiji-ya."

"That's right."

"Well… is that how you and nee-chan met? While you were exterminating youkai I mean," he asked her.

Kagome and Sango exchanged glances. "Er…"

"Not exactly." Sango went back and sat down at the table. "You see… the first time we met, I was actually after Inuyasha."

"Inu no nii-chan?" Souta's eyes widened. "Why were you after him? Because you heard he was a youkai?"

"No…" Sango gazed down sideways at the table.

"Sango-chan…" Kagome warned her that she didn't need to say anything, but Sango shook her head.

"I thought that… he had destroyed my village."

"You're village was destroyed?" Ms. Higurashi gasped. "How terrible…"

"But Inu no nii-chan would never do that!" Souta exclaimed.

"I know…" Sango continued. "The youkai Naraku tricked me into thinking that it was Inuyasha, when he himself was actually the one who sent youkai there to destroy it."

"But… does that mean you're the only one of your village who survived? What about your family?" Kagome's grandfather looked concerned. To answer his questions, Sango went on.

"My father, younger brother Kohaku and I went with the best of our village to slay a youkai at a lord's house. Of course, it was all part of Naraku's plot. He…" Sango's face darkened as she hesitated for a moment. "…took control of my brother, making him slay all the other taiji-ya. He came back to himself before it was over for both of us… when we were struck by several arrows… but I survived, not sure of how it all could have happened until I truly realized it later." Sango clenched her fists. "Then I found out that Kohaku was still alive, because Naraku placed a Shikon shard in his back, but only to do his evil bidding – and still is."

A solemn silence hung in the air, after Sango had told her story to the Higurashies. Kagome steadily watched Sango with slight worry, to see how affected the girl was.

"But Sango-chan," Kagome grabbed her friend's attention, "you forgot to mention the part where we save Kohaku-kun."

Sango looked up at her. "Kagome-chan…"

'Shhffftt!' This noise caused everyone to whip around. Buyo had apparently brushed past Sango's boomerang, which was now about to squash Buyo into a cat pancake. He stared up at his impending doom, crying out a fearful, "Meow!" Sango quickly reached out and grabbed the boomerang before it could fall. Everyone, including Buyo, sighed with relief.

"Buyo, what were you doing?" Kagome scolded the household feline, who 'meowed' in repentance.

"Is that the weapon you use to exterminate youkai?" Souta asked as he scanned over the bone boomerang.

"Yeah – my main one at least," Sango answered as she heaved it towards her. "This is Hiraikotsu – it was passed down through my family to me."

"It looks really heavy," Souta mused as he continued looking at it.

"It's not that heavy."

"Says you, Sango-chan," Kagome said. "Miroku-sama tried picking it up before and said that it was heavy."

"Is that the guy you said has the kazaana in his hand?" Souta asked his older sister. She nodded at him.

"A kazaana in his hand?" Kagome's grandfather repeated.

"Yeah, it's a curse that was originally placed on his grandfather by Naraku. He can suck up stuff into his hand, but with time the kazaana keeps growing – eventually it'll suck him in as well." Kagome explained to him.

"Hmm…" Kagome's grandfather seemed to be thinking.

"Don't think that you can get rid of the curse, Grandpa," Kagome interrupted his thinking process. "We have to beat Naraku in order for it to go away."

Souta changed the subject back. "Sango-onee-chan, do you think you can show me how you use Hiraikotsu?"

"Oh… I guess I could…"

"Mom, can she?" Souta looked across the table at his mother.

"I don't see why not."

"Alright!" Souta jumped up from his seat. "Let's go outside!" he exclaimed as he went out the door.

"Thank you for the tea," Sango said before she followed Souta out.

The room was quiet again for a moment, before Ms. Higurashi decided to speak. "This Naraku seems to be a lot of trouble," she said to those at the table.

"That's one way of putting it." Kagome pushed away her plate. "Naraku and the Shikon no Tama have caused a lot of problems for many people, including Inuyasha and Miroku-sama. But…" she cast a sideways glance at the door. "I think I feel sorry for Sango-chan the most. She lost so much, and her brother is under Naraku's control. I wish there was some way to make it better."

"But haven't you done that by being her friend?" Ms. Higurashi looked at her daughter sympathetically.

Kagome looked back at her mother. "I don't know… somehow it doesn't seem enough, even with Miroku-sama there for her."

"You keep saying 'sama'," Kagome's grandfather interjected. "What's that about?"

"He's a monk Grandpa, and a lecherous one at that." That reminded Kagome… "I wouldn't even be in this mess if it wasn't for him!"

"Hrm?" her family looked at her oddly.

"Er – never mind," she shook her head. "Even though he's like that, Miroku-sama and Sango are together."

"Sound's like she has even more troubles than originally thought." Her grandfather took a sip from his cup.

Kagome sighed before looking outside once again.

- - - Sengoku Jidai - - -

"Miroku…"

"Hm?"

"When you said we could have fun…" Inuyasha shot up like a bullet. "I didn't think you would mean this!" He motioned at all the girls around them in the room.

"What else is there?"

"Grr…! Just so you know I am _not_ having fun!" Inuyasha started for the exit.

"Inuyasha, where are you going? Don't spoil the moment!"

"There is no moment! You can stay here if you like, but I'm leaving!"

"Well if that's how you feel – "

"Miroku!" Shippo stepped in front of the monk. "Let's go!"

"What? Why?"

"Inuyasha's going, isn't he?"

"But he said I could stay. Besides, when else am I going to - "

"Miroku," Shippo said in an advising tone. "If you don't, I'll tell Sango what you've been up to while she and Kagome were gone."

Miroku gasped. "You wouldn't!" An image of Miroku's throbbing face after Sango had her way with him came to mind.

"Well, if you want to stay here, that's your decision." Shippo went off to join Inuyasha.

"Ack! Ah – wait!" Miroku got up rather reluctantly to follow the other two.

"What are you doing here?" Inuyasha looked back at Miroku jogging up to him.

"Ah, well I thought it would be better if we all did something together!"

"Yeah, right…" Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at him.

"Inuyasha, isn't there anything you've ever wanted to do but never got a chance to?" Miroku asked as Shippo jumped up onto his shoulder. Inuyasha didn't say anything right away, which Miroku interpreted as him thinking about it. "Ah, so there is something!"

"No there isn't," Inuyasha mumbled as he continued onwards.

"Come on, Inuyasha!" Miroku encouraged him on. "Whatever it is, we'll do it with you!"

"We?" Shippo furrowed his brows at the monk.

Inuyasha gradually stopped in his tracks. "Well…"

- - - Present - - -

"So is there anything in particular you want me to aim for?" Sango followed Souta outside, a little farther away from the house.

"Something to aim for?" Souta looked back at girl who nodded at him. "Er…" his eyes moved across the ground when he found a small stone. "Ah!" He picked it up and showed it to Sango. "If I throw this in the air, would you be able to hit it?"

"I'll try."

"Okay!" Souta ran ahead of her, and then readied himself for the throw. He bent his knees, and then jumped up, flinging the rock skywards as high as he could muster.

"Hiraikotsu!" Sango lifted the weapon over her head, to send in sailing across the sky headed for the rock. It impacted, the stone zipping over to some unknown landing spot.

"Wow, you got it!" Souta cheered.

"I just hope it doesn't hit someone," Sango said as she caught Hiraikotsu.

"Wow, what else can you do?" Souta was practically bubbling over with excitement.

"Oh, um…" Sango thought. "Well, I have other things like my katana, powder, gas, rope… I probably can't show you some of that stuff here though. It would be better to have youkai to use it on like in the Sengoku Jidai."

"Oh…" Souta's face dropped. "I guess I can't go there though – it sounds too dangerous."

"Yeah, and I bet Kagome-chan would rather you stay here too."

"To not get in the way you mean."

"No – because she would be worried if you got hurt."

"Eh?" Souta looked up at the older girl.

Sango's face softened. "I remember when I was worried about Kohaku. He wasn't really the type to go out and fight youkai. He wouldn't hurt anyone… he was so kind and gentle. Like you."

"Er - " Souta's face reddened. He tried to regain his composure. "Well, I could fight too!"

Sango smiled. "Fighting isn't always the way to do things."

"Well… what if it was to protect someone?"

"Eh?"

"Couldn't I use it to protect those I care about?"

Sango stared at him for a moment before reverting back into a smile. "I suppose."

Souta broke into a grin as well. "What…" he gazed down at the floor, "kind of weapon did your brother use?"

"A Kusari-gama."

"Do you think… I could learn to use that?"

"Souta-kun, you should be glad you don't need anything like that in this time."

"But I want to protect those I care for, right?"

Sango paused again. "Well… if you want… I guess I could show you with a wooden replica – it wouldn't be as dangerous."

"Really?" Souta brightened.

"Sure, if your mother is alright with it."

"Cool!" Souta grinned widely.

"Mew!" Kirara and Buyo came out of the house to meet the two. Kirara leaped up into Sango's arms, while Souta bent down to pick Buyo up.

"Oh, I forgot to mention," Sango said as she held Kirara, "that Kirara helps me to fight too."

"She does?" Souta looked at the cat youkai. "But she's so small."

"She can transform into a larger youkai – so much so that I can even ride her in the air."

"The… air?" Souta's eyes widened.

"Yep!" Sango bent down to be eye-to-eye with Souta. "And if you want, I'll take you later," she smiled at him with a wink.

"Uh…" a faint blush crossed Souta's face. "Really?"

"Mm!" she nodded. "Just be sure to ask your mother for permission."

"Sango-chan!" a voice from above called.

They both looked up to see Kagome at her bedroom window.

"Yes? What is it, Kagome-chan?" Sango called back up to her.

"Can you come up to my room for a moment? I need to ask you something!"

"Okay!" Sango gazed back down at Souta. "Later then, Souta-kun!" and she started heading back to the house, Souta watching as she left.

- - -

Sango left Hiraikotsu downstairs before heading up to Kagome's room. The first thing she saw when she got there was a handful of clothes being shoved in her face.

"Here, try this on," Kagome told her.

"Eh?" Sango blinked at her, taking the clothing into her own hands.

"You can't wear your clothes when we go out – you have to blend in to this timeline," Kagome said as she sorted through her other garments. "I'm not sure how my stuff will fit on you, so try that on," she pointed at what was in Sango's hands.

"Er… okay…" Sango replied unsurely. She eyed what was in her hands skeptically before doing as she was told.

"Oh, wait," Kagome stopped her as she dug around for something. She stood up and looked at what she had found for a brief moment before walking over towards Sango. "Here," she sheepishly held out two pieces of white garment.

"Mm…" Sango took it from here and bewilderment crossed her face.

"Put that stuff on before the other clothes," Kagome instructed.

Sango raised an eyebrow as she examined the longer article of clothing at arms length. "Uh… what's this for?"

Kagome sighed. Rather than explain it to her friend, she took it from Sango and pushed it up against the girl's chest. "You have to wear it here."

"Huh?"

"It's a brassiere – you have to wear it for support."

"To support what?"

"Sango-chan, don't be silly – to support your breasts, of course!"

"My… what!?"

"Oh, come on, hurry and try it on – I need to make sure it's your size," Kagome said as she undid part of Sango's clothes, tossing it onto her bed.

"Ah!" Sango gasped as this took her by surprise.

"Oh, and…" Kagome took the other piece of clothing from Sango. "This goes here like this." She held it just below Sango's midriff.

"What? I – "

Kagome cut her off, hand on the doorknob. "I'll wait outside while you put it on." She walked out closing the door behind her, letting out a deep sigh. 'I wonder what Inuyasha is doing right now…' she thought.

"Um, Kagome-chan?" Sango's voice came from the other side of the door.

"What is it?" Kagome placed her hands on the door.

"I can't put this thing on."

"What thing?" Kagome cracked the door open slightly, carefully peering inside. She spotted Sango in her set of underwear with her back facing her, fumbling around with the bra clasp. "Oh," Kagome said amusedly, walking up to Sango. "Here, I'll help you." She took the clasp from Sango to hook it herself. Briefly, she glanced at the scar on her back which brought up that familiar memory. She quickly dismissed it however, and went back to helping Sango. "Don't worry – this takes practice."

"Practice?" Sango retorted aghast. "How long do I have to wear this thing?"

"Well I thought you might as well keep it since I went out and got it for you."

"You paid for this with your own money?"

Kagome stood back to look at Sango. "Yeah, I bought you clothes – it's okay really. With the Sengoku Jidai stuff and my studies, I don't really have time to go shopping often anyways."

"I'll pay you back," Sango told her, but Kagome shook her head.

"It's okay. You're my best friend, and I wanted to treat you to something while you were here."

"Best friend?"

"Yeah, that's what got me into this in the first place." Kagome placed her hands on her hips. "Can you hold your arms out a bit?"

"Uh… like this?"

"Uh huh…" Kagome walked up a little closer to examine Sango. "How does it feel? Not to tight or loose or anything like that?"

"No… it just feels… weird…"

"That's just because you're not used to it." Kagome smiled proudly at her. "Looks good – I can't believe how well it fits considering I didn't know what size you were. Now you can try these on." She handed Sango the clothing she had given her before.

"Mm…" Sango was somewhat reluctant, but she did as Kagome requested. Kagome watched as she slipped the top on over her head, and then her skirt. "Er…" Sango tugged down at the skirt uncomfortably. "Kagome-chan, I think this short kimono of yours is too… short. That and this feels awkward," she pulled on Kagome's top.

"Hmm…" Kagome observed the girl. "Well… I guess if my friends figured out you were wearing my clothes it would be a problem… and you really don't look comfortable in it," Kagome tried to suppress a giggle.

"Huh?" Sango made a face. "What's so funny?"

"You!" Kagome burst out, beginning to laugh openly. "I only wanted to see how you would look in that!"

"What?" Sango raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

"The idea amused me at the time," Kagome tried to control herself.

"Kagome-chan!" Sango reddened.

Kagome let out a last few couple of giggles before going over to her bed. She picked up a fresh pile of clothes and showed it to Sango. "These are your real clothes," she beamed brightly.

Taking them, Sango sighed before replacing the clothes she had on now with the new ones. Kagome observed her in anticipation of what the result would look like. She wasn't disappointed. Kagome had picked out a black tank top with "Coral" written across it in red for her. She also had beige cropped pants with pockets all over, straps hanging at the side, and adjustable elastics at the cuffs. On her feet were plain white socks which reached her ankles, and for accessories, Kagome slipped on a wristband over her right hand, bangles on her left, and a chained necklace around her neck. As an added touch, she placed an ear cuff over her ear, then stood back to admire her.

Kagome sparkled. "Sango-chan, you look so cool!"

"Uh… really?" Sango twisted around a bit to try and see.

Kagome moved her over to the mirror to get a better look. "See?" she beamed. "Just one more thing…" she untied the ribbon in Sango's hair, instead putting her soft strands up like she sometimes did whenever they took a bath in the hot springs. "There we go! Perfect! What do you think?" she asked over her friend's shoulder.

Sango rubbed one of her bare arms. "Um… I don't know… don't you think this is a bit… much?" She examined the accessories Kagome had equipped her with. "I've never worn clothes like this before either. Especially this." She tugged on the pants.

"Yeah, I've never seen you expose so much skin while wearing clothes before," Kagome laughed. "But like I said before, you'll get used to it. Besides, I think it suits you. Come on," she grabbed Sango's arm. "I want to show my family." She dragged her downstairs into the kitchen. "Mom, Grandpa, look at Sango-chan!"

"Hm?" the two of them looked up at the entranceway.

"Ah, you look nice, Sango-san," Ms. Higurashi complimented her. "I wondered what it was Kagome brought home for you."

"Oh, yes, yes," Kagome's grandfather nodded his head vigorously.

"Yes!" Kagome grinned. "Do I have good taste or what?"

"What?" Souta walked up behind her.

"Oh, Souta," Kagome turned around. "Hey, tell me what you think of Sango-chan's clothes."

"Uh…" Souta gazed at the aforementioned girl. He thought she looked nice before in her Sengoku Jidai clothing. Now that her outfit was from the present time, he was able to compare her to other girls he had seen around. "Er… it looks nice…" His face turned a light shade of pink as he averted his eyes.

Sango smiled. "Thanks, Souta-kun."

"I-it was nothing…"

"Hm…" Kagome glanced at her brother briefly before walking off with Sango. "We're going back up to my room – we'll be right down to help with dinner after Sango-chan changes."

"Alright," her mother responded as the two girls left the kitchen.

- - - Sengoku Jidai - - -

The steam snaked around their three bodies as Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippo sat in the warm water of the hot spring.

"I can't believe this is all you wanted to do," Shippo murmured at Inuyasha.

"Everyone deserves a good soak in the hot springs once in a while," Miroku responded. He closed his eyes. "Anyways, I'm quite enjoying this myself, and it's not like we can do this often with Kagome-sama and Sango." Miroku rethought that statement. "Or maybe…"

"Miroku, can't you stay chaste for even one minute!?" Inuyasha retorted annoyed.

"Sorry, Inuyasha. This is something you wanted to do, so I should make it as enjoyable as possible."

"Hm…" Shippo leaned against the edge. "I can do this with Kagome and Sango if I want to," he said unenthusiastically.

"Which reminds me that you really shouldn't," Inuyasha frowned at the kitsune. "You're a boy, you should bathe with guys!"

"But I'm young!" Shippo protested innocently.

"You should practice being a man!"

"Now, now," Miroku tried to settle them down. "We're here to relax aren't we? Let's try and do just that. Afterwards we can get something to eat."

"Heh, I already thought of that!" Inuyasha grinned.

- - - Present - - -

"Mmm, this is good!" Souta happily liked his lips and took a sip from his soup.

"Yeah, our fish turned out surprisingly well," Kagome said to Sango.

Sango lifted some rice up to her mouth. "I agree – usually we just poke a stick through them to cook it."

"You did wonderfully," Ms. Higurashi smiled. "I hope everything else is alright."

"Oh, it's fine!" Kagome's grandfather replied as he popped in another vegetable in his mouth.

"Mm!" Souta nodded. "Hey, Mom…"

His mother gazed across the table at him. "Yes?"

"Sango-onee-san said that she could take me riding on Kirara. Can I?"

"Riding?"

"I promise that he'll be kept safe from harm," Sango assured her.

"Well then… of course you can go," she grinned.

"Yay!" Souta cheered.

"When would you like to go, Souta-kun?" Sango asked the eager boy.

"Mm… can we go after dinner?"

"That would probably be a good idea," Kagome glanced outside. "It's beginning to get dark out so not many people would be able to spot you."

"Then after dinner it is," Sango decided.

Souta beamed. "Alright!"

- - - Sengoku Jidai - - -

"It's a lucky thing Kagome left these here," Inuyasha slurped. "Mmm, this is good!"

Shippo raised an eyebrow at the hanyou. "What's that supposed to mean? You always like eating that instant ramen thing Kagome brings with her."

Inuyasha licked his lips. "Because it's good!"

"Hmm…" Shippo peered down at his own bowl. "This wasn't the dinner I was expecting."

"At least it's something," Miroku said as he brought his own chopsticks to his mouth.

Shippo watched the steam rise from his food. 'Well at least we're not choosing Miroku's preference of location to eat.' He reached out for his chopsticks when his bowl was whisked away from his very eyes.

"Hey, do you want this?" Inuyasha was about to consume Shippo's share of morsels as well.

"Hey, no!" Shippo cried in panic.

"No? Alright then." Inuyasha picked up his chopsticks.

"Inuyasha!" the kitsune whined. 'When are Kagome and Sango getting back?'

- - - Present - - -

After helping with the cleaning up, Sango was about to take Souta out for his flight in the night.

"Do you want to come, Kagome-chan?" Sango looked back at the girl going up the stairs.

"No, thanks," she answered. "While I'm here I figure I might as well do some studying."

"Mmm… okay. Work hard!"

Kagome laughed weakly. "Yeah, sure…"

Sango left to go outside where Souta and Kirara were already waiting for her. Souta was playing with Kirara, who was running around his legs as he tried to catch her. As Sango watched, she felt wistful, the scene reminding her of Kohaku.

"Sango-onee-chan!" Souta called when he saw her.

This broke Sango out of her reverie. "Eh?"

"Are you ready?" Souta asked the girl from afar.

"Oh… yes!" She walked up to Souta and Souta. "Are you?"

"You bet!" Souta pumped his arms.

"Alright then; Kirara?"

Kirara responded to Sango's calling of her name, transforming into her larger self before Souta's very eyes.

"Wow…" Souta gaped at the feline as the flames around her died down. Kirara laid herself down, waiting for Souta to hop on.

"Go ahead," Sango told Kagome's brother.

Even though he was excited, Souta took special care as her climbed onto Kirara's back. Kirara stood up after that, and Sango joined Souta from behind.

"Hang on, okay?"

"Mm…!" Souta nodded. Now he began feeling a little nervous. With a lunge, Kirara took off into the air. Souta hugged himself against Kirara's warm body as the cool night air blew through his hair. He took the chance to glance down at the world below him. It was then he realized just how high up they were, but found the sight to be quite amazing. All the buildings were smaller now, and the lights glittered like those on a Christmas tree.

"Are you alright?" the taiji-ya checked with Souta.

"Y-yeah!" The possibility of falling down into the city below occurred to Souta, but he took comfort in the fact that Kirara flew at a stable pace, and Sango was right behind to brace him. Then his nerves began to give out again, so he tried distracting himself by looking ahead.

- - -

"Augh!" Kagome whipped through her notes with excessive force. "Why can't I do this!?" The reincarnated Miko was in the process of doing her English homework, trying to understand how in the world people could remember all these grammatical rules. Before she could slam her textbook down in frustration, a knocking came at her bedroom door. "Come in!"

The door slowly opened, Sango peering through the opening. "Kagome-chan?"

"Oh, Sango-chan!" Kagome spun around in her seat to face her. "Back from your flight already?"

"Yes… it would have been a bit longer, but Souta-kun said he wasn't feeling very well.

"Oh, really?" Kagome leaned back in her chair.

"Mm…" Sango closed the door behind her. "Do you think he's afraid of heights or something?"

"Possibly…" Kagome contemplated the idea. "I don't think that's quite it though…"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing…" Kagome cast a wayward smile to the side.

"Kagome-chan…" Sango said suspiciously.

"Oh, hey!" Kagome said suddenly. "Since this is your first time in the present and it's getting late, do you want to use the bath first?"

"Eh?"

Kagome leapt out of her seat. "Come on!" She grabbed Sango's hand and led her to the bathroom, picking up some towels along the way. Pushing Sango inside, she began showing her where everything was and how to use it; the showerhead, the shampoo, the bath… these things called faucets. "So do you think you can do it?"

"Um…" Sango glanced around at everything in the room. She wasn't sure how all these things were needed to clean. Usually Kagome and herself would just go into the hot springs and be done with it.

Kagome leaned forward a bit to look at Sango's face, her hands behind her back. "Do you want me to stay and help you?"

"Er – no!" Sango brought her hands up in front of her. "That's okay. I'm sure I'll be able to handle it."

"It's no problem." Kagome straightened up. "I'll just help you shampoo and you can do the rest yourself."

"Uh…"

"Okay?" Without waiting for an answer, Kagome began undressing Sango herself.

"K-Kagome-chan! Umf!" Kagome threw a towel in Sango's face.

"You can cover yourself up with that for now," Kagome said as she redirected Sango to sit down on the stool.

"Er…" Sango shifted around uncomfortably.

"Nee, Sango-chan," Kagome said as she gently brushed her fingers through Sango's silky threads. "You have really nice hair."

"Eh?" This comment took Sango by surprise. "Is it?"

"Mm!" Kagome nodded, taking the showerhead in hand. "Especially considering the length and what you have to go through in the Sengoku Jidai. It's really well-kept – soft and smooth…" Perhaps because her mind was on other things, Kagome pulled the trigger on the showerhead, water gushing out all over Sango.

"Ah!" Sango cringed. "Kagome-chan, that's cold!"

"Oh, sorry, sorry!" Kagome grinned as she waved her hand. "My mistake." She went ahead and adjusted the water temperature, Sango shivering slightly from the sudden attack of water. "Is this better?" Kagome gently let out the water over Sango.

"Yeah…" Sango sighed, relieved to have warm water against her body now.

"Okay, get ready," Kagome advised Sango. She held the showerhead overtop Sango, allowing the warm waters to wash over her body. Kagome ran her hand through Sango's hair, making sure that the water passed through every strand. When she was done, Sango pushed her bangs up away from her face, wet from the water, and sighed again.

"Alright, now for the shampoo!" Kagome enthusiastically took the bottle and squeezed some of the shampoo into her palm. She slapped her palms together. "Here we go, Sango-chan!" Kagome immediately began to massage the stuff into Sango's hair. "How does it feel?" she asked of the other girl.

"Kind of odd," Sango replied admittedly.

"Don't worry. This is good for you," Kagome assured her. After a few more seconds of this, Kagome began to giggle.

"What is it?" Sango asked without turning around.

"Oh, nothing…" Kagome responded, yet she continued to laugh.

"You've been saying that a lot lately," Sango noted. "No, really; what is it?"

"Haha…! It's just that… I think it's funny," Kagome sniggered, "how you're actually older than me, and yet I feel like I'm supposed to be washing the hair of a child. Hahaha!"

"… And this amuses you?"

"Yes!" With that, Kagome swept her hand in front of Sango's face, some of the foam catching on her nose.

"Hey!"

Kagome laughed at Sango's reaction. "Sango-chan, it's so much fun to tease you."

"Is that so…?" In one swift action, Sango scooped up a handful of foam, spun around, and threw it at Kagome. The bubbly ammunition landed on the side of Kagome's face.

"Sango-chan!" Kagome spluttered in astonishment.

"Hahaha! Now who's teasing who?" Sango laughed, seeing the expression on Kagome's face.

Kagome frowned, wiping the foam off on the back of her hand. This was war. She threateningly brought the showerhead up in front of her, aiming it at Sango. When Sango noticed this, her previous expression quickly diminished.

"Kagome-chan…" Sango said slowly. "You're not going to…"

The other girl smirked… before pulling back on the handle.

Sango's eyes widened. She cringed as the water hit her relentlessly, turning her back on Kagome. "Ah! Kagome-chan!"

"The water is mightier than the foam, Sango-chan!" Kagome teased.

Seeing that she would have to put a stop to this, Sango turned and lunged at Kagome, grabbing for the showerhead. This took Kagome off-guard, and she fell back onto the floor with Sango as a result. She absolutely refused to let Sango take away her water-weapon, gripping onto it tightly. They both wrestled around for it, attempting to spray the other whenever the chance came. Amidst their shouts and the spurts of water flying everywhere, they both heard someone at the door, causing the two to freeze.

"Nee-chan?" the person on the other side spoke.

"Erk! It's Souta!" Kagome whispered in a panicky voice.

"Nee-chan, what's going on in there?"

"Nothing!" Kagome said quickly. "Just taking a bath!"

"But I thought I heard two voices."

"Eh?" Kagome was striken.

"Is Sango-onee-chan in there with you?"

"No, just me! Why don't you go look for her?"

"But –"

"I'll be out soon, so go!"

Souta sighed. "Fine…"

The girls listened quietly until they were sure Souta was gone.

"Ahh… That was close." Kagome leaned back on her hands. She looked around the room and then at herself. Everything was wet and soapy. "I guess I'll be taking a bath after you." Kagome picked herself up from off the floor, her clothes feeling heavy with water. She wrung out what she could and walked towards the door. "You can take it from here, right?"

"Um… yes," Sango replied, still somewhat recovering from what just happened. She picked up the showerhead and sat back on the stool to resume her washing.

- - - Sengoku Jidai - - -

"What do you think Kagome and Sango are doing now?" Shippo voiced this question to the others.

"Whatever it is it must be exciting," Miroku answered, leaning back against the wall of Kaede's home.

"Exciting?" Shippo wondered what Miroku was implying. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, I don't know," Miroku shrugged. "But I think I would like to have joined them."

"Huh?" Shippo still didn't understand.

"What nonsense are you spewing?" Inuyasha frowned. "Something perverted again?"

Miroku coughed. "What? Of course not."

"Hmm…" the kitsune and hanyou both stared at the monk.

"In any case, I think we should get some sleep," Miroku decided to say.

"Haven't I been saying that for the past while?" Inuyasha grumbled, shifting his body to lie on the floor.

"Aw, I'll be sleeping by myself tonight," Shippo sighed. "Usually I sleep with Kagome – Ow! Inuyasha, what was that for?" Shippo rubbed his head.

"Humph." Inuyasha merely slumped back down on the floor, staring off into space.

- - - Present - - -

Sango was sitting on Kagome's bed, looking around her friend's room. After taking some time to contemplate that mint stuff Kagome made her put in her mouth, she wondered what she should do. Kagome had given her a pair of pajamas to wear, which she suspected Kagome must have got for her. She figured this because she had never seen Kagome wearing this thing with straps...

Her eyes continued to wander until they rested on Kagome's desk. One of the books shelved there caught her eye – it didn't look like the ones Kagome usually carried around in the Sengoku Jidai. Curiously, she got up from the bed and slipped it out. What Sango picked up was actually a romance manga Kagome had stashed away.She opened it up and started flipping through the pages, sitting back down. The contents of the book boggled her mind, wondering what this was and what was going on in it.

Refreshed, Kagome came back from her bath, drying her hair with her towel. She found Sango crouched over something on her bed. Whatever it was, Sango was staring quite intently at it.

"No, what are you doing?" she heard Sango murmur. Kagome raised an eyebrow at her friend. She approached closer, slowly and quietly to see what exactly it was Sango was doing.

"Don't let him kiss you! Are you – "

"Sango-chan?"

"Ahh!" Sango jumped suddenly when she heard Kagome's voice from behind, dropping the manga to the floor. She whirled around to face Kagome.

"What are you doing?"

"Uh…"

Kagome dropped her sight on the book on the floor. She bent over to pick it up and looked at the cover. "Were you reading this?"

"Um… well, I was waiting for you when I found it and…" Sango glanced to the side, apparently ashamed of herself.

Kagome blinked at her. She looked at the manga, then back to Sango. "Do you want to keep reading it?"

"No, it's okay. I think I've had enough of that…"

"Mm… well, okay." Kagome shelved it back into its spot. "I guess it's time for bed then. You can take my bed."

"What? But it's yours."

"Yeah, but I thought I'd let you see what it's like to sleep on it. I'll just take a futon."

"But you don't get to come home that often. I think you should have it instead."

"Well if we aren't going to come to a conclusion on this…" Kagome glanced at her bed before saying, "I think it's big enough for the both of us."

"Eh?" Sango blinked at her, and then looked down at the bed she sat on.

Putting her towel away, Kagome asked, "So do you want to sleep on the inside or outside?"

"Er…" It seemed Sango that Kagome was going though this quickly.

"You can take the outside if you feel to congested on the inside," Kagome suggested.

"Sure," Sango agreed.

"Okay, go ahead," Kagome told her as she went to turn the lights off.

"Wait… where's Kirara?" Sango looked around in case her companion was nearby.

"Probably with Souta," Kagome replied, shutting off the lights in her room. "Do you want to go look for her?"

"No, it's fine." Sango pulled back the covers. "She should be alright." She paused to look out of Kagome's bedroom window, the city lights twinkling against the velvet backdrop.

Kagome came up behind her. "Like it?"

"Mm… it looks like the town is still alive even though it's night."

"There is a night life." Kagome yawned softly. "But I think I'd rather sleep."

Sango smiled. She pulled back the covers and waited for Kagome to go in first, but Kagome instead insisted that Sango went. Sango wondered why since Kagome was to sleep on the inside, but she obliged and slipped under the covers. The reason why Kagome waited soon became evident to Sango. Kagome decided to jump onto the bed, nearly scaring the wits out of her.

"Kagome-chan!"

"I thought I'd make things a little exciting," Kagome smiled at her. "Did it work?"

"If exciting is what you want to call it, then yes," Sango panted.

"Good." Kagome rested comfortably underneath the covers with Sango. "Goodnight then, Sango-chan."

"Goodnight, Kagome-chan."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Me: So there's the third chapter. How'd you like it? I just wrote and tried to make things fit even though it didn't really seem that way. Uh… does that make any sense?

In case you picked it up, I kind of made it so that Souta as a little innocent crush on Sango… … What? It seemed cute at the time, okay? (It's somewhat reminiscent of Sakura and Yukito.) I know in the anime he has that girl he likes, but I thought that episode was filler so I didn't include her (not to sound mean or anything).

Next chapter: Sango meets Kagome's friends! Is that a good or a bad thing?


	4. Fervent Friends

Me: 2004? … Well, I finally finished the next chapter. It's pretty long, so I hope that pleases those who have been waiting for an update.

I still intend on keeping the couplings canon, though I have to admit I was tempted to morph it into a slash… e-heh. Feel free to interpret whatever you like however.

Er… sorry if people who have been waiting for a reply from me never got one. Please accept my apologies!

Disclaimer: "InuYasha" is property of Rumiko Takahashi, Sunrise, Viz, and all those other people who bring this series to us!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chapter 4: Fervent Friends

"Mmnn…" Kagome opened her eyes. It was just about morning and she was lying in her bed rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes. Sighing, she vaguely wondered why her bed felt so warm. She glanced beside her and was a bit surprised to see Sango sleeping next to her. Kagome had to remind herself why she was there in the first place.

Stretching, she sat up and looked at her clock. The alarm was about to go off, so she decided to turn it off before it could. She leaned across Sango to reach for it when a loud noise suddenly startled her. Yelping, she leaned too far forward and tumbled off the bed onto the floor, carrying all the bed sheets with her.

Groaning, she put a hand on her head. "Ow…"

"Mm… Kagome-chan?" Propping herself up on her elbows, Sango looked down at the girl from atop the bed.

"Oh, Sango-chan." Kagome looked back at her. "Sorry. Did I wake you up? I didn't mean to."

"That's fine. What are you doing on the floor?"

"Eh? Oh, um… eh?" Something was moving around in the sheets. Pulling them aside, Kagome revealed Kirara.

"Ah, Kirara!" Sango leaned forward. "There you are."

"Kirara?" Kagome stared at the ruffled up feline. "You gave me a fright!"

"Mew?" Kirara tilted her head to one side.

Sango laughed when she realized what must have happened.

"Eh?" Kagome looked at her. She soon joined the laughter too though, and the day was off to an interesting start.

- - - Sengoku Jidai - - -

"Mmff…" Inuyasha twitched in his sleep. "Something… smells… disgusting…" he mumbled half asleep. A sharp pain in his sides brought Inuyasha to consciousness. "OW! What the heck was that? Huh?" He was staring at two legs wrapped in fur with bandages around the feet. "It…" he looked up and saw him. "Kouga?" He shot up onto his legs. "What the heck are you doing here?"

"Good morning to you too, Inukkoro." The wolf demon had his hands on his hips.

"Grr! Answer the question!"

"Heh. I thought I'd take a break and look for Kagome, what else?" He threw Inuyasha a condescending smirk. "What? Didn't think I came all the way here just to watch you drool in your sleep, did you?"

"Grr! I do _not drool_!" he shouted back at the wolf youkai.

Kouga gazed off to the side. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. So where's Kagome?"

"Humph." Inuyasha folded his arms. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but she's not here."

"Huh? Not here?"

"That's right. She went off to her time with Sango for a couple of days."

"Sango? The taiji-ya? Hmm… to her time you say?"

"Yeah, and don't even think about trying to go get her. Only _I_ can do that," he added self-satisfactory.

"Don't flatter yourself. I wasn't thinking about anything of the sort. Tsk, what rotten luck." Kouga kicked at the dirt. "I come all the way here for Kagome and she's not even here."

"Yeah, too bad for you." Inuyasha slumped down onto the ground.

At that moment Miroku and Shippo came out of Kaede's.

"Oh, Kouga." Miroku walked up to them. "What brings you here?"

"I was looking for Kagome, but Inukkoro here tells me she isn't here."

Inuyasha growled. "Stop calling me that, Yasee Ookami!"

Miroku replied to Kouga, "Yes, she went back to her time for a while."

"Just my luck." Kouga turned his head away so his ponytail swung as he did so.

Miroku thought for a bit. "Well, if you're not busy…"

"Hrn?" Inuyasha and Kouga looked at him.

"Would you like to stay with us for a while?"

"Eh? Miroku, what are you doing?" Inuyasha sat up in his spot, eyes flashing.

"Thanks, but no thanks. If Kagome isn't here there's not point in staying around this guy." Kouga jutted a thumb at Inuyasha.

"But when she comes back you can tell her about all the things we did," Miroku persuaded. "I'm sure she'll be interested."

Kouga paused at this. "Hmm… Alright!" He made a decisive stance. "For Kagome's sake, I'll put up with you guys for a while!"

"Huh?" Inuyasha blinked. "Hey, what are you –"

Brushing the hanyou off, Kouga said, "So, what are we doing first?"

"Hey! Listen to people when they're talking to you!" Inuyasha wasn't looking forward to how this would play out at all.

- - - Present - - -

Kagome had left Sango alone in the bathroom to tend to herself while Kagome went off to prepare other things. Presently the taiji-ya was searching for that mint stuff Kagome had made her use the previous night.

"Where is it?" Sango walked around the counter with a toothbrush in hand. "Maybe I should just ask Kagome-chan where it is." She opened up the medicine cabinet and two boxes fell out of it.

"Hn?" Sango bent down to pick them up. "What are these things?" She looked at the pictures on the box and then at the words. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

Kagome was in her room laying out the clothes for Sango. Today was the day she was to meet her friends, and she hoped everything would turn out all right.

"Phew… okay, there we go." She put her hands on her hips and admired her work.

A knocking came at the door. "Kagome-chan?"

"Yes?" Kagome turned around.

Sango walked through the door carrying the boxes she had picked up in the bathroom. "What's… na-pu-kin and… tampon?"

"Huh?" Kagome stared at the boxes in Sango's hands. "Um… er… well, they're… uh…" All of a sudden Kagome felt like a mother trying to explain something taboo to their child. 'Boy, as long as I don't have to have the sex talk with her…'

- - - Sengoku Jidai - - -

"Mmm…"

"Hnn…"

"Grr… Would you hurry up?"

"Hey, these things take time!" Kouga snapped at Inuyasha. "Alright… I choose… this one!" Kouga snatched up the card. "Yes! I win again! Hahahaha!"

"Grr…" Inuyasha tightened his grip on the joker card he still had. "Gah! This game is stupid!" He threw the card down to the floor.

"Inuyasha, there's no need to be a sore loser," Miroku quipped.

"Yeah, even if you haven't won a game yet," Shippo added.

"Keh! I'm not being a sore loser! I just don't want to play this stupid game anymore!"

"You just think it's stupid because you haven't won yet," Kouga smirked triumphantly.

"Keh… what do you know?" Inuyasha laid himself across the floor with has back facing the others.

Kouga glanced at him. "Yeah, I'm sure Kagome would get a kick out of hearing you didn't win when she comes back."

"Gh!" Inuyasha sat up suddenly. "Miroku, deal them again!"

"He's so easily manipulated," Shippo mumbled.

"Mm-hm…" Miroku nodded.

- - - Present - - -

"So what do your two have planned for today?" Kagome's mother asked as she cleared her breakfast dishes.

Kagome followed her mother to the sink with her own dishes. "Well, today we're supposed to meet my friends at McDonald's for lunch."

"McDonald's?" Ms. Higurashi took the dishes from her daughter and placed them in the sink. "Don't you think you girls think you should be eating something more substantial?"

"Well, Sango-chan's never had fast food before, so I thought it would be all right for today."

Ms. Higurashi appeared thoughtful. "Well, I suppose that's fine for today then."

"Fast food?" Seated at the kitchen table, Sango had an image of various servings of food running around at light speed on their legs. She shook her head. "No… what am I thinking?"

"Hn?" Souta was watching her, wondering what Sango was thinking about just a moment ago.

"Sango-chan, we won't be leaving until around eleven," Kagome informed the taiji-ya, "so do whatever you want until then."

Sango replied obligingly. "Mn… all right."

- - - Sengoku Jidai - - -

"Hey, this stuff is pretty good for something that's not meat." Kouga was slurping up a fresh bowl of ramen. It was originally intended for Inuyasha, but the wolf youkai decided to help himself after the hanyou had prepared it.

"You…!" Inuyasha was absolutely seething as he watched this outsider gobbling down his precious ramen.

Miroku decided it would be best to try and ease the tension. "Ah, Kouga; where are Hakkaku and Ginta?"

Kouga licked his lips after sucking in a few strands of his food. "They should be catching up with me anytime now. Ah, there they are." He glanced up at his two companions who were stumbling their way over to the group. "Hey, you two."

"K…Kou…ga…" Hakkaku panted.

Ginta bent over with his hands on his knees. "Wha-what are you doing?"

"What does it look like? Eating of course!"

Hakkaku wiped his brow. "Where's nee-san?"

"She went back to her own time apparently." Kouga went back to his ramen. "I'm just waiting around here until she gets back."

"Huh?" the two youkai chorused.

"Why don't you guys sit down and have something to eat? Here." Kouga reached out and grabbed the second bowl Inuyasha just finished preparing, holding it out to his comrades.

Inuyasha's features grew with wrath. "HEY!"

- - - Present - - -

"Hmm…"

"Souta, what are you doing?" Kagome glanced up from her magazine to look at her brother. He was just sitting there at the table, an arm propping up his face.

"Nothing – that's the problem," Souta mumbled.

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him. "How can you have nothing to do?"

"I don't know. I just feel really… bored." He let his head fall to rest on the table lazily.

"Then go do something."

Souta showed no signs of interest. "Mmm…"

Not that Souta was particularly annoying Kagome, but seeing him there doing nothing was making her feel sluggish herself. Trying to think of something for him to do, a brilliant idea struck her. Face breaking into a grin, she said, "I know. Why don't you go look for Sango-chan?"

"Mn – Wha-what?" Souta's eyes widened and he immediately sat up in his spot at the table.

"I said why don't you go look for Sango-chan? I think the last time I checked she was outside."

"Mm-but -"

"Oh, just go already. I'm sure she wouldn't mind your company."

Souta started at his sister. There was no way he was going to win this. Somewhat begrudgingly, he muttered, "Fine…" and got up, leaving a satisfied Kagome in the sitting room by herself.

"Sango-onee-chan?" Souta opened the front door and peered out, turning his head from side to side. He stepped out the door and tried calling again. "Sango-onee-chan?"

"Souta-kun! Over here!" Sango was sitting a ways off from the house with some materials placed before her. She waved for him to come over. "I'm almost finished."

"Finished what?" Souta asked as he came up to her.

"This." Sango held out the object she was working on for him to see. "A wooden kusari-gama."

"Wow…" Souta was simply awestruck by the woodwork. He watched as Sango took a few more brisk strokes of sandpaper to the wooden blade and connected it with the chain she had.

"Here you are." She held it out to him and Souta accepted it with careful hands and awe-filled eyes. He examined the gift vigilantly, fingers trailing over the crafted wood. Finally Sango said, "Why don't you try it out?"

Souta looked at her. "Eh? Try it out?"

"Yeah." Sango stood and lead him to the target practice she had set up for him. The station was made up of some tin cans placed atop a few boxes which Kagome's mother and grandfather had helped her to find. "Try aiming for those." She pointed at the cans.

"But…" Souta stared at the weapon in his hands. "How?" Sango took the wooden kusari-gama from him to demonstrate. She held the chain with both hands and swung the end with the blade just over her head until she threw it forwards to collide with one of the cans.

"Like that." Sango handed the kusari-gama back to Souta. "Try it."

Souta swallowed, holding the kusari-gama the way he had seen Sango do it. He swung the appropriate awkwardly, the blade falling to the ground when it slipped out of his hands. Shocked, Souta apologized to Sango but she simply told him to try again. He did, this time managing to throw it, though it didn't reach the boxes. He pulled the blade back and once again attempted to throw it, this time the blade hitting the boxes, rattling the cans.

"Ah, you almost got it that time," Sango commented.

Souta dragged the piece of wood back. "Not really…"

"Don't worry," Sango assured him with a pat on the back. "It took Kohaku quite a while to get it right."

"How long?" Souta mumbled miserably.

"Sango-chan!" Kagome was calling the taiji-ya from the doorway this time. "Come on, we have to get ready to go."

"Okay!" Sango turned to Souta. "You'll get it."

He nodded, but otherwise didn't seem to believe that he would.

- - -

The girls were walking down the bustling street, Sango constantly turning her head and taking in the sights of modern Japan. Kagome watched her amusedly. Sango's reaction to coming to the present was sure different from Inuyasha's. Then Kagome remembered something that she had seen earlier when they were leaving the shrine. "Say, Sango-chan. What was Souta doing when we left?"

Tugged away from her sightseeing, Sango turned to Kagome and replied, "He's practicing how to use a kusari-gama."

"Kusari-gama?" Kagome echoed with a hint of surprise. "Isn't that…"

Sango nodded solemnly. "He wants to learn it so he can protect people he cares about." She smiled and caught Kagome's gaze. "That includes you Kagome-chan."

Kagome faltered at first but then recovered with a slight prickly demeanor. "Souta can be so ridiculous sometimes. He –" Something bright caught Kagome's eye. She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk abruptly, staring starry-eyed at something in the window display. "Oh, wow!"

"Hm?" Sango had to retrace a couple of steps when she found Kagome was no longer walking with her. "Kagome-chan, what are you looking at?"

Kagome's eyes sparkled, her hands clasped together in front of her. "Wedding dresses!" she breathed in a dreamy tone.

"Wedding dresses?" Sango followed Kagome's gaze to a display of three different, but equally dazzling white dresses, adorned with fitting accessories. They looked pretty extraordinary to Sango, but she still couldn't figure out why Kagome was so fixated with them. What she failed to realize was that Kagome was in "day-dream mode," conjuring up yet another delightful scene of Sango being married off to Miroku in one of those ravishing gowns. "Um… Kagome-chan?" Sango glanced at her memorized friend.

"Kagome!"

This new and notably louder voice was what knocked Kagome awake back to reality. She stared down the sidewalk along with Sango, seeing three familiar faces coming up to meet her. "Oh, you guys."

"What are you looking at?" Yuka faced the window display and gasped. "Wedding dresses?"

"Er, it's nothing, nothing!" Kagome waved her hand dismissively.

"Ah! Is this your friend?" Eri eyed the girl with Kagome eagerly.

"Oh – yes, she is." Kagome stepped aside. "Sango-chan, these are my friends from school: Yuka-chan, Eri-chan, and Ayumi-chan."

Sango greeted politely, "Nice to meet you."

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Yuka said when Sango made them a little bow.

"Hm…" Ayumi voiced with interest. "To do that says something about your character though."

Kagome laughed a bit nervously. "Er – come on. Let's go get something to eat."

The girls took Sango to their usual burger joint which wasn't too far from where they were. They sat at their usual booth with the usual food, and Kagome helped Sango pick out what she might like to try from the menu up on the wall. As soon as they were seated, the interrogation began.

Yuka was the first to start things off. "So Sango-san, what school do you go to?"

"Uh… school?"

Kagome mentally smacked herself. How did it not occur to her to get Sango's story straight before coming to meet her friends?

"You look older that Kagome-chan though," Ayumi observed.

"How old _are_ you?" Yuka continued. "I think it's a bit odd for Kagome to be going off on her own and making mature friends."

"Eh?" Kagome raised a crooked eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm sixteen," Sango answered as she fingered her burger's wrapping.

"A year older then!" Eri said excitedly. "And? What school?"

Here is when Kagome interjected, "Oh, you wouldn't know where Sango-chan's school is."

Yuka looked suspicious. "What? But you said she lived in the local area, right?"

"Yes, but she commutes to her school which is very far away." Kagome was making exaggerated tones in her voice.

"Really?" This made Eri all the more interested. "So what's the name of the school?"

"Oh, it's um… er…" Kagome mumbled some indistinguishable words.

"What was that?" Ayumi leaned forward slightly.

"Er – Astraea Academy!" Kagome blurted out the first plausible yet unfamiliar school name she could recall ever seeing.

"Astraea?" her three friends repeated.

"Yes, i-it's an all girls school, very prestigious," Kagome added in an attempt to make it sound more believable.

"Hn… if that's the case, then how did you two meet?" Eri looked at the two girls sitting across the table.

Kagome was beginning to squirm uncomfortably. She glanced at Sango, knowing that it would seem odd if she kept answering for her. Sango appeared to sense this as well, and Kagome prayed that the taiji-ya would be able to come up with something proper.

"It was during a fight."

Kagome's arm slipped on the table and she banged her forehead on her tray of food.

Her friends were oblivious to her minor mishap however, more intrigued by what Sango had said. "A fight?"

"Yes, it was between me and the boy Kagome-chan was with," Sango said a little too calmly.

Kagome rapidly lifted her marked head from the table. 'Sango-chan, what are you saying?'

Ayumi looked thoughtful. "The boy Kagome was with?"

Yuka flattened her palms on the table, feeling a revelation coming on. "Then, was that boy Kagome's boyfriend?"

Kagome's face was pulled into a panicked yet diffident expression.

Sango blinked. "Huh?"

"You know; her boyfriend." Yuka tried to drag more information out of her. "Is he really a delinquent?"

"Her boyfriend?" Sango still didn't understand the meaning or use of this word.

Eri described him as, "The one who gets jealous easily and has anger management issues!"

Reflecting on this description, Sango replied, "Could it be you're talking about Inu-" At that moment Kagome stuffed a couple of french fries into Sango's mouth.

"Inu?" Kagome's friends were puzzled.

"His name has 'dog' in it?" Eri said.

Yuka whispered to the others, "Maybe it's part of his gang name. This isn't good, Kagome spending time with friends who are perverted and violent."

"Sango-san seems nice though," Ayumi commented. "And she does go to a private school."

The three of them were muttering to each other while Kagome and Sango sat at the other side of the table and endured. Kagome felt feverish, noticing that so far there had been more questioning than eating going on.

"Kagome-chan, are you okay?" Sango didn't think Kagome was looking too well, what with her bent over the table seemingly ill.

"I-I'm fine," Kagome replied with a meager smile.

"Higurashi!"

The girls looked up at the voice and were greeted with a friendly grin from the boy standing before them.

"H-Houjou-kun!" Kagome was more than a little surprised to see him there.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. "You're not coming down with anything again, are you?"

Kagome waned at the remark. "No, I'm all right Houjou-kun."

Houjou glanced at the unfamiliar face at the table. "Oh, you're…"

"This is Sango-chan, Houjou-kun," Kagome introduced. "She's a friend of mine."

"Oh, nice to meet you!" Houjou brightened.

Sango nodded. "Nice to meet you too."

"Are you here eating lunch by yourself?" Ayumi questioned Houjou curiously.

When Houjou answered yes, Yuka came up with a brilliant idea. "Well, that's not right. Kagome, why don't you go and eat with Houjou?"

"Eh?" Kagome donned a clueless look.

"You can keep him company." Yuka exchanged glances with Eri and Ayumi. "Right?" Catching on, the two girls agreed with Yuka's proposal.

"But, it wouldn't be fair to Sango-chan," Kagome countered, aiming to squeeze past this problem.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of Sango-san for you. You don't mind, right?" Yuka looked at Sango.

"Er…" Sango attempted to confirm with Kagome whether this was a good idea or not. Clearly though, this didn't seem to be something Kagome was too thrilled about going through with.

Compromising the situation, Kagome suggested, "Actually Houjou-kun, why don't you just sit with us?"

"Is that really okay?" Houjou said.

"Yeah, the more the merrier." Kagome gently nudged Sango closer to the window so that Houjou could sit. Still, in her mind Kagome wearily thought, 'This is going to be more complicated than I hoped it would be…'

- - - Sengoku Jidai - - -

After having eaten, Inuyasha was even more reluctant to spend anymore time with Kouga. That was just fine for the wolf youkai though. He wandered around the village with Hakkaku and Ginta, the villagers acting not very concerned about them since having discussions with Kaede and the others. Eventually however, Kouga got bored and sought out a tree to sit up in tiredly.

Hakkaku looked up at their leader lazing on one of the tree branches. "Kouga, is this really okay?"

"Yeah, don't you want to look for Naraku?" Ginta added.

Kouga huffed. "This is troubling. I don't want to say it, but staying here waiting for Kagome might be a waste of time."

"Oi, Yasee Ookami!"

Kouga nonchalantly gazed down at an irritated Inuyasha.

"Get down from that tree!" the hanyou yelled up at him.

"Oh? Why's that?" Koura replied with a blasé attitude.

"I don't have to tell you why, just get down from there!"

Kouga sat up so that his legs hung over the branch he was on. "Really? I don't see your mark on it."

Inuyasha growled and pointed at something on the tree trunk. "Here!"

Jumping down with ease, Kouga landed next to Inuyasha to see what he was pointing at. "Hm? That dent in the trunk?"

"That's the mark to show this tree is mine," Inuyasha said sternly.

"What, did you make that with your katana or something?" Kouga watched Inuyasha for a sign of frustration, but instead saw Inuyasha looking back at him with focused eyes and determined somberness. He turned and said, "Hmph. Fine then. You can have your tree." Kouga stalked off with Hakkaku and Ginta trailing behind him.

Inuyasha gazed up at Goshinboku and sighed. 'Isn't it enough that he chases after Kagome?'

- - - Present - - -

The room was dim. Lights were flashing, various noises raging, and there were so many people being kept here. Sweating hands, dilated eyes, the clang of metal, and shouts of despair; what was this place? Then Sango herself was forced onto one of those machines and told what instructions to follow. Unfamiliar writing flashed on the screen and Sango felt a slap on her back.

"Way to go! You cleared it!" Yuka grinned at her, her screen also flashing the word 'Cleared!'

Eri leaned on the safety bar. "See, it's not too hard to play DDR."

"Have you really never been to an arcade before?" Ayumi asked. "Maybe it's because your family's strict?"

"Yeah, you do go to a private school after all," Eri added.

Kagome was standing off to the side with Houjou. 'Sango-chan, thanks for putting up with all of this,' she sighed.

"Higurashi," Houjou called, "do you want to play something?"

"Oh, sure." Kagome followed Houjou to one of the nearby games with their unused tokens.

When Kagome's friends saw them go off, the girls pulled Sango off the DDR machine and began to haul her away.

"Wait, where are we going?" Sango turned to each of the girls fervently.

"To leave those two alone," Eri replied furtively.

"We know Kagome has that other guy she likes," Yuka said, "but she needs to know that there a guys who don't have to act tough to be likable."

"What? But –" Sango looked back at Kagome, busy shooting down coloured orbs with Houjou. 'Kagome-chan… help.'

- - -

"Where did they go?" Kagome looked around outside the arcade with Houjou, not spotting any of her friends within eyeshot. 'No… I have to find Sango-chan.' Kagome frowned. 'Honestly, I never knew those three could be so dangerous!'

"Higurashi?"

"Oh, Houjou-kun!" Kagome was reminded of the boy still with her. "I'm sorry, I haven't been paying attention."

"No, it's okay. Finding your friend is more important, right?"

Kagome realized that she might have been acting rudely towards Houjou. She despondently said, "It's just that I'm worried something will happen to her because she's unfamiliar with the area; even though she's with the others."

Houjou smiled. "I understand. There'll be other times when we can do something together, right?"

"Um… yeah." Kagome wasn't sure if her answer was a lie or not. "I'm really sorry to leave you like this."

"What are you saying?" Houjou raised an amused eyebrow. "I want to help you."

"Eh? Houjou-kun, that's okay. I don't want to put you out more than I've done already."

Houjou shook his head. "I want to help you Higurashi. Besides, it'll be better with two people looking, right?"

Kagome smiled. "Thank you, Houjou-kun."

- - -

The girls had brought Sango to a local shopping district with many people bustling about and looking at the various things that were on sale. Never before had Sango seen such things as what was on display, and Kagome's friends seemed to be enjoying themselves picking up anything that seemed remotely interesting. That didn't stop them from commencing their interrogation however.

"So how violent is Kagome-chan's boyfriend?"

'Not this again,' Sango mentally griped. "Er… when you say boyfriend… do you mean as in a couple?"

For a moment the girls stared at Sango. Yuka retorted, "Of course! What else would we mean?"

"So is it true?" Eri pushed. "What's he really like?"

Sango sighed. Did she really need to get into this? She felt it wasn't really for her to say anything about Kagome's relationship with Inuyasha, but neither did it seem that Kagome's friends would stop pestering her about it unless she said something. "Well… I guess it's true that he can be insensitive at times…" She started off awkwardly, but she voiced what she felt was true. "But he really does care about Kagome-chan." Her voice was soft. "I've seen it."

Kagome's friends looked amazed by Sango's opinion. Eri made a repentive grin. "Guess he's not so bad after all."

Ayumi said, "I feel kind of bad for leaving Kagome with Houjou."

They stood there with disposed guilt and realization in the middle of the crowd, a strange silence between the girls.

Yuka looked up at Sango. "So, what about your boyfriend?"

Sango blinked. "Eh?"

"Oh, yeah," Eri said, the mood beginning to lift. "Aren't you seeing that perverted guy?"

"Perv…" A mental image of Miroku flashed before Sango. Horrified, Sango exclaimed, "Kagome-chan said something about that?"

Eri put her hands on her hips. "Not frankly, but we could put two and two together."

"Isn't it hard being with a guy like that?" Ayumi asked Sango.

"Does he hit on other girls?" Eri interjected.

"How far have you two gone?" Yuka probed.

Sango cringed at the questions being asked directly of her own supposed love life. 'Kagome-chan, what exactly did you say to these friends of yours?'

- - - Sengoku Jidai - - -

"I've had enough of you, Yasee Ookami!"

"Oh yeah? Well same here, Inukkoro!"

"Would you two please settle down?" Miroku was beginning to get weary from being the peacekeeper as of late. "A village isn't the best place for a fight right now."

"Heh, a fight actually sounds like a good way to blow off some steam." Inuyasha reached for Tessaiga.

"You're going to fight me with your katana?" Kouga pointed at the katana by his side. "See this? Have you ever seen me draw it for a battle?"

"Keh. You probably wouldn't be able to handle one of those anyway," Inuyasha scoffed.

"I don't need a katana like _some_ people. My fists and legs are all I need to fight."

Inuyasha made an annoyed sound before sheathing Tessaiga. "You think so, eh? Well I've fought with my fists before, so come and see what I can do!"

Kouga charged with a punch at the ready. Inuyasha dodged and threw a fist of his own. Soon there was a flurry of fists and kicks developing between the two, their friends watching from a distance.

"This is trouble," Hakkaku said to the others.

Ginta groaned. "Just watching them is making me tired."

Shippo shook his head. "They're both fools."

Hakkaku watched as Kouga flew into the air, ready to kick Inuyasha. "Should we stop them?"

"That wouldn't be an easy thing to do," Ginta thought out loud.

Miroku stepped forward as Inuyasha prepared himself for Kouga's onslaught. The monk took a deep breath. "Osuwari!"

Hearing that word Inuyasha tensed, not paying attention when Kouga's foot came crashing down on his head. Kouga hopped back, pleased with the sight of Inuyasha's face implanted in the ground.

Shippo observed as Inuyasha's body didn't move from its spot. "Ah – is it over?"

Miroku sighed. 'I hope things are going better for Kagome-sama and Sango.'

- - - Present - - -

She was lost. Utterly, utterly lost. With so many people crowding the area it was easy to get caught in the flow and separated. Now Sango was wandering the streets which were now thankfully clearer, searching for where Kagome's friends had gone off to. Surely they must have noticed she was no longer with them? "Where are they? Hm?" Up head Sango spotted someone being pushed into an alleyway by questionable company.

"How lucky for us to come across such cute girls."

"Stay away!" Yuka shouted, the three of them huddled together in the middle of five high school boys.

Ignoring her protest, four of the boys grabbed Eri and Ayumi, holding them back as the male in front of Yuka gripped the front of her shirt.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

Everyone looked back at the alley's entrance when they heard the voice.

"Sango-san!" Yuka tried to pull out of the hold she was in.

"Oh, look. We have another one." The boy with Yuka threw her back so one of the others caught her. He walked towards Sango. "Why don't you come over here?"

Sango scowled. "Preying on other people – you're the worst kind of criminal."

"Ke – What was that?" He reached out to grab her. Sango seized his hand and twisted his wrist around, kicking him in the face to toss him against the wall.

Seeing this, one of the others tore away from the group and lunged at Sango, throwing forward a punch. It was wild, and Sango easily side-stepped past it, capturing his wrist and smashing the base of her palm into his temple.

The other three came at her at once. She jumped on the side of the ally's wall and to the next until she was high enough to land on two of the guys' faces when they looked up at her. She swung her foot backward to whack one of them in the head, leaping off the face of the other and turning to kick him in the back of the head as well. When she landed on the ground Sango swept her leg under the last offender's feet, knocking him to the cement. By the time he opened his eyes from the shock, Sango was standing above him with a foot ready to come down on his throat. "Leave," she said curtly.

The guy under her foot scooted away and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. "Darn you! This is way too much trouble." He got up and left with the others, scurrying around the corner pathetically.

Sango watched them go, releasing a breath of pent-up air as soon as they were gone.

"Sango-san, you saved us!"

Sango turned and saw the three girls filling her view, admiration and gratefulness spread across their faces.

"That was amazing!" Eri squealed.

"That was marital arts, right?" Ayumi avidly inquired. "What kind of training do you have?"

"Er…" Sango took a step back. Not another round of questioning?

"So that's why you were fighting Kagome's boyfriend, right?" Yuka stated. "You thought he was no good and you wanted to protect her!"

"Eh?" The older girl had no idea where she got that idea from.

"Well," Yuka concluded, "with you by Kagome's side we won't have to worry much about him."

Sango sighed. 'Kagome-chan, you sure have some interesting friends…'

- - -

"Thanks for helping me Houjou-kun." Kagome stood at the base of the steps to her family's temple, having been unsuccessful in her search.

Houjou shrugged his shoulders. "No problem Higurashi. Tell me when you find her, okay?"

Kagome nodded and waved goodbye to Houjou. As she traipsed up the steps, she wondered drearily to herself how she was going to explain to her family what happened. "I'm home!" she called as soon as she was through the door.

"Welcome back!" answered a voice that made Kagome jerk.

She ran into the kitchen to find Sango helping her mother prepare dinner by chopping some vegetables. "Sango-chan?" Kagome exclaimed wide-eyed. "How did you make it back here?"

"Your friends walked me," the taiji-ya said simply.

Kagome was about to ask what had happened when the telephone began to ring. Her mother asked if she could pick it up, so reluctantly she put aside her inquires for now and went to the hallway to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

"Ah, Kagome! Good, you're home!"

"Yuka-chan?"

"I just wanted to say on behalf of the three of us how sorry we are about leaving you and Houjou behind. But you know, you letting Sango-san spend time with us was really great." Yuka went on to mention, "She helped us out of a pinch we got into with these troublesome guys."

At this news Kagome faltered. "She did?"

"Yeah, she beat them up and then they ran off. It was really amazing! She said that her father taught her everything she knows."

"Sango-chan said that?"

"Yeah, why? Has she never mentioned that to you before?"

"No, it's just… never mind."

"Well anyway, we should do it again the next time she's around. Is that okay?"

"Yeah… sure." Kagome gently placed the receiver back its dock after saying her goodbyes to Yuka. She paced back to the kitchen and saw Souta talking to Sango.

"I knocked them down but it wasn't as good as how you did it," Souta was saying. "I also couldn't pull it back properly."

"Don't worry. At least you're making progress; and since you seem to be good at that, why don't you also make the table?" Sango gave him a teasing smile.

Souta pouted. "That was a trick, wasn't it?" Sango laughed as he went to gather the dishes and utensils.

Kagome leant against the doorway, watching.

- - - Sengoku Jidai - - -

Inuyasha was lying on the rooftop, not wanting to be sleeping in the same quarters as Kouga. It was unbelievable how the wolf youkai just dropped in and trounced around acting as if the area was his. Inuyasha had spent a lot of time around the village in the past. He felt it was _his_ home, not meant to be intruded upon by unwanted guests. He gazed at the moon, shining bright and full, wishing that Kagome would come back soon.

- - - Present - - -

After her shower Kagome walked into her room, toweling off her hair. She saw Sango lying on her bed with her eyes closed, and the younger girl vaguely wondered if she was asleep. Kagome tip-toed to the bed and stood over Sango, softly calling her name. Sango's eyelids rose slowly, blinking at the light.

"So you're still up." Kagome put her damp towel over the back of the chair at her desk.

Sango sat up and touched the back of her fingers to her eyes. "Just barely."

Kagome sat in her chair and spun around to look at Sango. "So how did things go with my friends?"

"It was alright," Sango said off-hand.

"I heard you saved them from a bunch of guys."

Still a bit tired, Sango paused before replying, "Oh, that."

Kagome found it somewhat funny how Sango didn't seem to think much of it. "I hope it wasn't too much trouble."

"I've had to beat people like them before," was all Sango had to say. "But it was interesting going to those places." She looked up at Kagome. "They asked about Inuyasha again you know."

"Eh – really?" Kagome watched Sango carefully. "What… did you tell them?"

"The truth."

"Gh – what do you mean?" No way Sango would mention anything about Inuyasha's true nature, would she?"

Here Sango grew a tad sheepish. She tilted her head. "I just said what I thought he meant to you."

Kagome blinked. '… What does Sango-chan think?'

Sango turned sharply. "So, do you like Houjou-san too?"

"Wha… EH?"

"Because your friends told me they wanted to give you two 'alone time' or something like that."

Kagome looked to the side. "They're just imagining things," she said defensively.

"Hnn?" Sango lowered her eyelids. "So they imagined the stuff you said about Houshi-sama too?"

"Er – what?"

"They called him my boyfriend!" Sango flushed, rising from the bed to stand above Kagome.

The school girl realized just how intimidating Sango could be as she stood in front of her. "I didn't say that! I just –"

"Aah! You did say something!"

"I really don't know what you're talking about." Kagome got up and tried to unsuspectingly head for the door.

"Kagome-chan," Sango said steadfastly. She caught Kagome's wrist and pulled her around, catching her other wrist. Sango pushed Kagome to her bed, holding her down at the wrists while she was positioned above her. "You didn't put up a fight," Sango said, mildly surprised. "Not like last time."

Kagome huffed. "What happened to the Sango-chan that didn't even like me splashing water at her in the onsen?"

Sango's expression changed for a moment, but Kagome couldn't read it. The taiji-ya rolled off to sit on Kagome's bed, Kagome taking the same position. "She's still here. It's just that people have different sides to them, don't they? Like you. Sometimes you're kind and thoughtful, while other times you're explosive and distant."

"Save my bad points for last, why don't you?" Kagome's eyes narrowed.

"Not really. It just makes you more interesting; and different," Sango replied gently.

Her comment took Kagome aback. 'Is she trying to tell me something about Kikyou and I?'

Sango smiled at her. "Well, it's getting late. We should get some sleep."

They pulled the covers back and slipped in; taking the same spots they had the night before. Already exhausted from the excitable day she had, Sango soon fell asleep while Kagome stayed awake. She looked at Sango, thinking about what had happened so far since she came with her to the present.

'Sango-chan, how much of your personal life did you have to tell them? It wasn't painful, was it?' She touched Sango's arm softly, and paused when she saw tears glisten in Sango's eyelashes. Kagome was immediately worried. 'Is she having a bad dream?' She waited a moment; then trailed her hand further along until it was behind Sango's shoulder. Kagome moved her body closer to Sango, closing her eyes as she thought, 'I'm sorry.'

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Me: This story has been my first time writing Kouga and his friends, something I rather think is a bit of a landmark for me. Was it good?

(sigh) I'm giving everyone a warning now – do not expect an update anytime soon.


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